It was a damp day at the office for runners taking part in the weekend’s X Border 10K. Despite the conditions, over 500 runners toed the line on Sunday (February 6) for the 2022 outing of the 'two for the price of one’ event!

The conditions were certainly worthy of comment with one participant Jim Boyle taking to Facebook to say: “A fantastic event. Huge kudos to all the volunteers. Brutal conditions and some sleet at the end just to cap it off. An outstanding shift. Hope you’ve all thawed out. Brilliant organisation.”

Since its inception, over 7000 runners have taken part in the unique event, which is now in its 11th year. The popular cross-border event saw runners run north to south, starting at Greens of Gretna and finishing up in Carlisle’s Kingmoor Park. Last year it was 'south to north'.  

This year’s winning time was achieved by Eden Harrier, Harry Lancaster in 00:33:02 while first female was Marie Marshall of Annan Athletics in a time of 00:38:28. 

Race organisers were upbeat post race, saying: “Thank you so much to all of our amazing marshals who stood out in the rain at the start, finish and on the course for you all today. Every one of you are just incredible. Thank you to all our sponsors. Thank you to you, our runners, for taking part. We hope to see you again at the next one.”

And runners will be pleased to hear that they don't have that long to wait till the next one, as it was announced late yesterday (February 7) that the X Border 10K will now be staged twice a year running both ways. 11 September will see participants take on the route Carlisle to Gretna in a slightly warmer climate.

Someone who will certainly be back is Julie Hawkins, who commented on Facebook: “Thank you so much to all the organisers and fantastic marshals! My first time doing the event and was really well organised. Smooth transfer on the bus and the right amount of loos at the start! Looking forward to trying it the other way, where it’ll be more downhill!”

If you’d like to know more or sign up to the September event then visit the Events Up North website. 

Image: Innovation Sports Ltd